Drum head auxiliary unit



March 27, 1962 R R. KLEINER ET AL 3,026,759

DRUM HEAD AUXILIARY UNIT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 5, 1960 INVENTORS RUDOLPH R. M WUWW W I 7 TORNEYS March 1952 R R. KLEINER ET AL 3,025,759

DRUM HEAD AUXILIARY UNIT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 3, 1960 FIG. 5

FIG. 6

INVENTORS RUgOblZEH R. KLEgrfEER JE O ZARC BY m, Emma, MA 9 1,

ATT RNEY layer.

United States Patent 3,026,759 DRUM HEAD AUXILIARY UNIT Rudolph R. Kleiner, 14 Codwise Ave., and Jerome Zarcone, 176 Memorial Parkway, Bldg. 3, Apt. 813, both of New Brunswick, NJ.

Filed Mar. 3, 1960, Ser. No. 12,556 Claims. (Cl. 84-411) This invention relates to an auxiliary drum head unit of limited dimensions adapted for ready application at and about the small batter area of the head of a drum.

The auxiliary unit of the invention is particularly adapted for the purposes of immediate repair or reinforcement of the limited area of a drum head struck by the heater in the type of bass drums employed in socalled dance bands. With such bass drums at pedal-actuated beater strikes the drum head continuously at a small batter area and as a consequence rapid wear and deterioration is induced This has required frequent drum head replacements which are expensive and inconvenient.

The auxiliary unit of the present invention is small and may be carried by the drummer ready for instant application in the event of drum head rupture or deterioration during playing. In this way replacement of the drum head is avoided with attendant advantages in time and expense.

In accordance with one embodiment of the invention the auxiliary unit comprisesa flat laminate of an area somewhat larger than the batter area of a pedal beater type bass drum. Such a laminate may comprise 'a plurality of layers joined at their flat boundary surfaces. One of said layers comprises a small auxiliary drum head or vellum affixed at the outside of said auxiliary unit. Another of said layers may be of softer, resilient material adapted to be adhesively affixed at the batter area of the main drum head.

Such an auxiliary unit, properly affixed, does not muffle the tone of the drum but actually enances the same. Furthermore, the auxiliary units can be made from several suitable materials and also provided in many different shapes. A drummer experienced in the use of these units can obtain a wide range of sound effects therewith which, according to his judgement, are desirable in various performances.

According to certain of the embodiments of the invention a flat laminate is provided including 'a thin, flat frame for added support and rigidity. The small, auxiliary drum head is securely affixed to the frame by clamping or by adhesive. An intermediate layer of harder, resilient material is recessed to accommodate the frame and support the auxiliary drum head or batter layer. A softer inner layer is then interposed to protect the drum head from abrasion by the resilient The auxiliary unit can then be aflixed over the batter area above referred to by adhesive disposed on the inner surface of the said softer inner layer. 01', it can be affixed by screws disposed in openings in the auxiliary unit which are tightened in soft bushings disposed in holes punched in the drum head.

With the auxiliary units of this invention, the useful life of a drum head can be greatly prolonged and drum head failures during performances may be substantially avoided.

The invention is described in detail in the following portions of thehspecifications and. reference is to be 'made to the accompanying drawings in which:

3,626,759 Patented Mar. 27, 1982 ice FIG. 3 is a view in section of the auxiliary unit taken along line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an exploded sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 2 showing details of a particular mounting means employed to hold the auxiliary unit on the drum head;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of another embodiment of the auxiliary unit of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a view in section of the embodiment of FIG. 5 taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of still another embodiment of the invention and FIG. 8 is a cross section view taken along line 88 of FIG. 7.

Referring to the drawings and particularly to FIGS. 1 through 4, a replaceable auxiliary unit 12 is shown positioned on the batter head 11 of bass drum 10. The auxiliary unit 12 as shown, is held in place by a plurality of screws 14 of the sheet metal screw type which pass through the peripheral portion of the auxiliary unit 12 and are tightened into bushings 16.

The bushings 16 are located in the batter head 11 around the principal batter area to be covered. The bushings 16 are of a relatively soft material such as for example brass. The threads of screws 14 gain a purchase in the inside surface of the bushings as the screws 14 are tightened into them to hold the unit 12 on the batter head.

As shown in detail in FIGS. 3 and 4 the auxiliary unit is of laminated construction. Auxiliary unit 12 comprises a thin protective layer 19 positioned adjacent the batter head surface 11. In the illustrated embodiment layer 19 is flannel cloth and is cemented by an adhesive 21 to a relatively thicker support layer of resilient material 18. In the embodiment the resilient layer 13 is of a flexible plastic compound such as rubber .045" thick.

Supporting layer 13 is recessed around the periphery of its outer surface to accommodate a flat, ring frame 17. In this embodiment, the outer diameter of frame 17 is slightly larger than that of supporting layer 18. The outer periphery of the frame projects into the grooved portion of a clamp 13 (note the detailed section of FIG. 4).

Frame 17 provides rigidity to the replaceable auxiliary unit. The frame 17 can be of several strong relatively flexible materials and in the embodiment of FIGS. 1-4, comprises a flat ring of laminated fibrous material bonded with a thermosetting plastic resin, the frame being cemented to the surfaces of the recessed edges in the supporting layer 18.

Positioned adjacent the outer surfaces of frame 17 and resilient layer 18 is an auxiliary drum head or batter layer 15. In the particular embodiment, auxiliary batter or drum head layer 15 comprises a .010 inch thick film of polyethylene. This layer or film is stretched across frame 17 such that it overlaps the periphery of the said frame. It is held in place by the tight fitting, circular clamp 13 The auxiliary head may be made of several tough flexible drum head materials such as, for example, the polyethylene illustrated in FIGS. 1-4, a vinyl equivalent, a metal as illustrated in FIGS. 5-8, or of skin which is often used for drum heads.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 1-4, circular clamp 13 comprises the same material as frame 17. As shown in FIG. 3, the clamp 13 is of U-shaped cross section.

through along a diameter. thereof to permit assembly.

The auxiliary unit 12 is held on the batter head by screws 14 which pass through openings in the periphery of auxiliary unit 12. The screws are inserted into said openings or holes during assembly of the auxiliary section 12. They are generally held from dropping out by erratic fibers of the flannel 19 which engage the screw threads. In this way the auxiliary unit can be carried, ready to be mounted in place on a drum head.

For mounting, the package is removed and the screws are turned and tightened into the bushings 16 on the batter head 11 as above-described. Before pressing the flannel layer 19 against the batter head 11, the surface of the flannel to be mounted adjacent thereto, may be coated with a slow drying, gummy pressure sensitive adhesive 21.

The batter layer 15 of the auxiliary unit is directly subjected to the beating of drumsticks or batter arms and protects the resilient layer 18 from wear and abrasion. The resilient layer 18 supports frame 17 and the batter layer and also serves as a stress equalizer, spreading the force imparted by the batter arm or drum stick over the batter head therebeneath. Flannel layer 19 eliminates abrasion of the drum head 11 which the supporting layer 18 would cause if it were in direct contact therewith.

The batter layer 15 can also be-a decorative layer and can be embossed, printed or painted for aesthetic effects. Also, the circular shape indicated in FIGS. 1-4 is illustrative only; The auxiliary unit can be given various distinctive and pleasing shapes.

A modified embodiment of the invention has been illustrated in FIGS. and 6. In this embodiment, an auxiliary unit 25 comprises an auxiliary drum head or batter layer 26 of corrugated metal in rectangular form. Cemented thereto by means of an adhesive 27 is a relatively thicker supporting layer 28 of, for example, compacted felt. The layer of felt is in turn cemented to a main drum head 11' by means of the adhesive 2'1, which is a pressure sensitive slow drying adhesive. In the embodiment, the auxiliary drum head layer 26 is somewhat less than .020 thick and the layer of felt may be for example, approximately Ma thick.

The adhesive layer on the surface of felt 28 to be mounted adjacent to the drum head 11' is covered during assembly with a disposable film or thin sheet (not shown) which remains there aflixed until the replaceable auxiliary section 25 is to be used. For mounting, the

film is removed and the auxiliary unit 25 is pressed into position on the batter head 11' of the drum Where it adheres for use. I

The advantage of utilizing a slow-drying, gummy type adhesive at the interface of batter head 11 and the auxiliary unit 25 lies in the resulting facility with which the replaceable auxiliary unit can be removed. A permanent bond does not establish at this interface during the normal useful life'of the auxiliary unit. The unit can be readilypulled away from the drum head and discarded so that another can be mounted in its place. This advantage, is, of course, realized in the other embodiments of the invention where a slow drying pressure sensitive adhesive is used to affix the auxiliary unit to a drum head area.

The area of an auxiliary batter layer can be considerably smaller than that of the supporting layers provided. In such a case, the batter layer is cemented to .the generally central portions of the layer therebeneath.

Such a scheme can provide unusual decorative effects. It is particularly well adapted for the pedal actuated beater situation above mentioned, where the drum head batter area is very small.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 7 and 8, a replaceable auxiliary section 32 is shown in an illustrative circular pattern. A'batter layer 35, a frame 37,, a supporting layer 38, and a flannel layer 39 are shown. In this embodiment, the several laminations or layers are cemented together at their boundary flat surfaces.

Frame 37 comprises laminated plywood. The frame is fitted into recesses presented by a rubber supporting layer 38 and cemented in place at interfaces 40. Batter layer 35 is cemented in place on the outer surfaces 42. of support layer 38 and frame 37. A pressure-sensitive adhesive is also used at the inner and outer surfaces 41 of flannel 3?. The inner adhesive surface 41 is covered during assembly with a disposable film or thin sheet (not shown) and the outer surface is afiixed to the inner side of support layer 38. When the replaceable auxiliary unit 32 is to be used, the disposable film is removed and the auxiliary unit is pressed in position on the surface of the drum head 11".

In some circumstances, depending on the experience and judgment of the musician, the principal batter area of the drum head may be removed before the replaceable auxiliary sections of this invention are positioned for use. The embodiment of FIGS. 1-4 is particularly advantageous for such application because the bushings 16 of FIG. 4 can be mounted in the batter head around the cut-away area to be covered. The replaceable auxiliary sections are secured in place over the cut-away area. The batter head is then tuned by the musician in accordance with the sound effects he requires.

Details of the drum head auxiliary section have been described with reference to several particular embodiments. It should be understood, however, that changes in the matters described may be made without departing from the invention. Accordingly, reference should be made to the claims to determine the scope of this invention.

We claim:

1. An auxiliary drum head unit adapted to be alfixed,

to the main drum head of a drum comprising a flat laminate including an outer auxiliary drum head surface layer of tough flexible drum head material, at least one inner layer of relatively soft material situated immediately adjacent to said tough outer layer in contact therewith, means for aflixing said unit against the batter area of said main drum head to cover and protect said batter area, said auxiliary drum head layer being of an area larger than the area of said batter area and smaller than the area of said main drum head, said auxiliary drum head unit when aflixed to said main drum head having the property of loading said main drum head to alter the basic frequency response of said main drum head when said auxiliary drum head surface is struck, said response being altered in the absence of substantially mufiiing the tone of the drum.

2. An auxiliary drum head unit according to claim 1, in which said layers are affixed one to the other at their flat boundary surfaces, said soft layer of material being afiixed by an adhesive to said main drum head.

3. An auxiliary drum head unit adapted to be aflixed to the main drum head of a drum comprising a flat multilayer laminate of an area larger than the batter area of said main drum head and smaller than the area of said main drum head, said laminate including a flat, annular frame having an inner open area larger than said batter area, an outer auxiliary drum head surface layer of tough flexible drum head material, means for affixing said auxiliary drum head layer to said frame, a resilient layer situated adjacent said frame and in contact with said auxiliary drum head surface layer, a layer of soft material adjacent said resilient layer and means for aflixing the laminate to said main drum head with said'so ft layer in contact therewith, said auxiliary drum head unit when affixed to said main drum head having the property of loading said main drum head to alter the basic frequency response of said main drum head when said auxiliary drum head surface is struck, said response being altered in the absence of substantially muffling the tone of the drum.

4. An auxiliary drum head unit according to claim 3, in which said auxiliary drum head layer is bonded to said frame and said resilient layer by an adhesive, said resilient layer having an outer recessed portion for the reception of said frame permitting said resilient layer to extend into the inner open area of said frame to contact said outer auxiliary drum head layer, said resilient layer being bonded to the soft layer by an adhesive applied to the interfaces of said soft and resilient layers and said soft layer being affixed to said main drum head by an adhesive.

5. An auxiliary dnim head unit accordingto claim 3, in which said auxiliary drum head layer is clamped to said frame, peripheral portions of said auxiliary drum headlayer being bent over end portions of said frame, a clamp having U-shaped end portions for receiving and engaging the end of said frame and said peripheral portion of auxiliary drum head layer bent thereover, a resilient layer having an outer recessed portion to receive and abut said frame, said resilient layer being shaped to fit within the inner open area of said frame to be in contact with the inner surface of the auxiliary drum head layer, a soft layer of material continuously in contact with said resilient layer on 'a face thereof opposite to said frame and auxiliary drum head layer, a plurality of screws disposed in openings through said auxiliary unit and said drum head and soft bushings afiixed in openings in said dmm head, said screws being tightened in said bushings to attach said unit to the outer surface of said drum head over the batter area thereof, said unit when affixed to said main drum head having the property of loading said main drum head to alter the basic frequency response of said main drum head when said auxiliary drum head surface is struck, said response being altered in the absence of substantially mufliing the tone of the drum.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,078,004 Lebow Apr. 20, 1937 2,565,225 Gladstone Aug. 21, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 2,135 Great Britain 1861 

